I rarely buy anything new for myself; so by the time I do, the old is so worn and tattered, it really isn't good for anything, except to be thrown away.
Currently, I have 4 shirts with little holes in them, but instead of throwing them away...I put them back in the drawer to be worn yet another day. (As a matter of fact...I'm wearing one right now. LOL.) I guess I just get so comfortable and familiar with the way they fit...that I don't notice how tattered they are.
Eventually, I recognize their condition and realize it's time to get something NEW!
Today, as I looked at my tattered shirt, I thought about the condition of my life. I like to have what I call, "LIFE EVALUATIONS"...where I reflect on where I have come from...and where I am going to. I like having these life evaluation because sometimes (like my shirts) I have become so comfortable and familiar with life...I haven't noticed how tattered, torn, and worn I've become!
Shopping for a shirt is easy enough...but when it comes to life...only God can remake us.
In Jeremiah 18:1-4, we read: "This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: "Go down to the potter's house, and there I will give you my message." So I went down to the potter's house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him." (NIV)
Friends, God wants to remake us. He wants to take the tattered and torn fragments of our life and reshape them. Our condition hasn't escaped His notice. He's masterfully spinning our world round and round...breaking us...melting us...reshaping us...and watching us closely in the fire...and at just the right moment...He lovingly draws us out...UNHARMED and REMADE!
The truth is...we can trust God.
If it feels a little hot...if it seems uncomfortable...if it seems like you've been spinning around and around on the same "potter's wheel of life"...REMEMBER THIS..."The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made." (Psalm 145:8-9, NIV)
Sometimes, we just need to take a step back and recognize that it's time to be made NEW AGAIN.
PRAYER: Father, we ask that You would lovingly reshape us and remake us. We want to be made NEW. Fill us with Your Spirit. Breathe Your life into us. Take all the tattered and torn pieces and make us whole again...a vessel of honor for You! In Jesus name, amen.
This speaks directly to me! I can totally relate to being remade in the fire. It is like a sifting process... different things are filtered out at different stages of the process... first the big things then, step by step, progressively smaller flaws/imperfections are filtered out of us until we ultimately become His finished masterpiece... if we submit to His will and comply with His ways.
ReplyDeleteA nice NEW lesson from an OLD passage. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteOh Girl....I think you and my pastor had a premeeting and decided on teaching about being refined...Mal 3:3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver. And he knows when we're done when he see's his reflection in us!
ReplyDeleteThank you again...for being his hands and feet!
Love,
Julie
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ReplyDeleteDoug-well said. I like it...His finished masterpiece! :)
ReplyDeleteConitkepr1-thanks for you encouragement!
Julie-LOL. I love it when God confirms again and again! He is speaking to you so clearly...enjoy this time!
Amanda-so glad you joined our group. IF you'd like to receive a daily link email me at julie@hisloveextendedministries.com and I will email you the link each week day. I'm going to your site now to check it out! Welcome!
Thanks for linking up to me today. I love to hear what God is saying to you and THROUGH you. As for the Potter's Wheel, um...I think I LIVE there. Can't remember a time when I didn't feel like He was remaking me. :) I guess that's a good thing.
ReplyDeleteI hear ya, Sandy! Debbi <><
ReplyDeleteSandy and Debbi, boy isn't that the truth; it's when we fail to live there that we really get into trouble. Personally, I can't think of a better place to live...in the place where God leaves his fingerprints all over your life! Love ya both!
ReplyDeleteAwesome ... just what I need to hear!! God is good!
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